


A PEARL

by ayobaby



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: i also love love love aerith and zack and angeal, i love mitski, something i wrote 2 cope, very self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 08:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26470048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayobaby/pseuds/ayobaby
Summary: “it's just that i fell in love with a war. nobody told me it ended.”
Kudos: 2





	A PEARL

**Author's Note:**

> writing this at 12am to cope with the death of my loved ones??? perhaps.  
> it probably doesn’t make any sense but that’s okay. i just always wanted some cloud-angeal interaction and that one scene from advent children (you know,,,, everyone calling aerith mother,,,,) made me bawl.  
> [ lowercase intended. ]

cloud's eyes felt impossibly heavily. he couldn't really open them but that didn’t bother him. nothing in particular was bothering him, he supposed. a woman's voice playfully sounded from above him. 

~~_i don't want a child as big as that!_ ~~

she sounded familiar. she sounded warm. 

~~**mother?** ~~

there was no response. now cloud really was fighting to open his eyes. he wanted to see. he wanted to know. 

~~**aeri—** ~~

_  
hey cloud! calm down!_

he paused. this voice was warm too.

 **zack?** he tried.

_hey kid. you did great. i knew you could do it._

why wouldn’t his eyes open? cloud wanted to see zack so badly. he was only able to feel his presence, not actually see him.

**i want to see you.**

long ago, cloud gave up on his emotions. he tried his best to lock them away, tried his best to be bothered with how human he was. after seeing how imperfect sephiroth was, how he didn’t really value anything as a god, cloud was almost relieved to feel. still he wasn’t one to state his own desires to himself, let alone others.   
  
_i'm so proud, cloudy. i'm so proud._

he swore a tear did not slip out of his eye.

_you did well. though my sword . . . you could have cared for it a bit more._

this voice was different. it was unfamiliar. a man's voice. deep. was he talking about the buster sword? his eyes were still stubbornly glued shut. cloud searched deep in his memories, desperately trying to place a name and face on the new voice. a stabbing sensation rudely invaded his mind. _angeal! that's my mentor! isn't he great?_ came zack's laughing voice from a time where his biggest concern was not making it into SOLDIER.

**angeal.**

_yes. you are a hero, strife.  
_

he bit his tongue, eyes squeezing even tighter shut in discomfort. cloud could not agree. he did not feel very heroic.

**i'm sorry.**

there was silence all round.

**i'm sorry sephiroth failed you.**

he didn't really know who he was addressing at this point. 

**i'll do my best to honour your legacies.**

a derisive snort echoed.

_cloud, you've already done that!_

_i'll have to agree with zack here._

~~_me too!_ ~~

he couldn't believe his ears. cloud made to argue, made to push his points of self declared failure, but was cut off. the darkness in his eyes was streaming away and his ears strained to hear the deceased trio one last time. there were no parting words, something which he thought would make him feel bitter. but it didn’t.   
  


he awoke to a stinging sensation. his eyes fluttered open and allowed the blond to observe the furious red markings etched onto his hands. cloud would have missed the small sigh of relief at his bedside if it weren’t for his enhanced hearing. the worried, warm eyes of tifa studied him. “are you okay?” she whispered. he nodded slowly and then turned to look out the window. the sun was slowly setting but today the usual rays of pink and orange were accompanied by streaks of blue, green and red. it was an odd sight. yet very comforting.

~~**_sorry i don't want your touch._ ** ~~

~~**_it's not that i don’t want you._ ** ~~

~~**_sorry i can't take your touch._ ** ~~


End file.
